The steady increase of overseas property sales Cyprus continued in August according to the latest official statistics published by the Department of Lands and Surveys with sales in Famagusta leading the way.

AUGUST saw the number of overseas property sales in Cyprus rise by 65 per cent compared to August 2016 according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

Of the 572 contracts for the sale of immovable property that were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus in August, 399 (69.8%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 173 (30.2%) were deposited by overseas property purchasers.

Overseas property sales

With the exception of Nicosia, where sales were almost the same as August 2016, sales rose in all districts. In percentage terms, Famagusta lead the way with sales increasing by 144%, while in Larnaca, Paphos and Limassol rose by 79%, 65% and 46% respectively.

Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison

District

Year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Nicosia

2016

11

9

10

10

14

6

8

6

6

10

13

28

2017

9

4

6

18

15

12

15

6

Famagusta

2016

2

4

12

2

0

27

8

9

10

10

10

15

2017

1

2

16

6

11

15

29

22

Larnaca

2016

10

12

36

36

10

45

32

14

31

30

40

39

2017

25

20

28

20

43

26

41

25

Limassol

2016

24

21

52

44

19

60

64

28

53

68

53

125

2017

35

47

56

40

96

77

75

41

Paphos

2016

20

28

47

42

15

57

79

48

29

43

72

147

2017

23

40

80

43

95

78

91

79

Totals

2016

67

74

157

134

58

195

191

105

129

161

188

354

2017

93

113

186

127

260

208

251

173

During the first eight months of 2017, property sales to the overseas market have risen 44% compared with the same period last year to reach a total of 1,413.

(During August Title Deeds for 75 properties were transferred to overseas buyers bringing the total number of transfers for the year to date to 618.)

Domestic property sales

Sales of Cyprus property to the domestic market in August rose by 15% compared to August 2016.

Although sales in Famagusta, Paphos and Larnaca fell by 22%, 8% and 6% respectively, these falls were outweighed by increased sales in Limassol (58%) and Nicosia (21%).

Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison

District

Year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Nicosia

2016

43

70

10

69

68

92

94

58

75

70

73

116

2017

63

69

71

62

103

150

109

70

Famagusta

2016

20

31

21

33

24

7

19

32

22

37

9

72

2017

20

17

24

23

27

31

30

25

Larnaca

2016

68

96

85

91

93

75

91

67

90

81

74

114

2017

77

80

85

49

76

70

62

63

Limassol

2016

68

158

145

122

126

162

156

101

142

202

196

307

2017

97

130

176

152

202

227

194

160

Paphos

2016

61

72

59

65

105

126

74

88

98

83

111

171

2017

73

47

82

93

88

157

93

81

Totals

2016

260

427

382

380

416

462

434

346

427

473

463

780

2017

330

343

438

379

496

636

488

399

During the first eight months of 2017 property sales to the domestic market have risen 13% compared with the same period last year to reach a total of 3,508. However an unknown number of these relate to properties acquired by the banks as part of loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers.

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Readers' comments

I wholeheartedly agree and endorse the comments of “Costas a fortune” September 10, 2017.

I believe a similar comment was made just after the EU ‘Bail-Out” when it was said “Anybody contemplating buying property in Cyprus must either be Mad or have more money than Sense.”

Now, a well known Cypriot developer is asking that his clients who have not yet received their Title Deeds (I am still waiting after 10+years) should pay him upfront all outstanding IPT, Sewerage Charges etc which will then enable him to meet his unpaid Penalties tax bill incurred because he encroached and built on Public Land when initially constructing a development.

It is notable that both he and his son are still driving around in their 30,000+ euro motor vehicles, that the son is still living in his, worth probably 1,000,000+ euro ‘Casa’ and their associated ‘businesses’ are still operating and in existence.

I think this is known as ‘Taking the Biscuit’ in the UK.

Ed: If you haven’t done so already you should apply for your Title Deeds – see Applying for Title Deeds. This should avoid you having to pay your ‘well-known developer’ as when the deeds are issued you will be asked to pay IPT, Sewerage, etc. directly to the relevant public authority. These payments will be calculated at the rate applicable to yourself and not at the higher rate applicable to a developer.

Anybody buying on this island must be out of their minds. No title deeds, corruption is rife, dodgy legal system, banks getting fined for mispractice, the list is endless. There’s thousands of wronged investors would sell on St George Hills paphos if anybody wanted a overpriced property. Save yourself a lifetime of misery and put your hard earned money to better use elsewhere.

The views expressed in readers' comments are not necessarily shared by the Cyprus Property News.